Publishers are finally getting serious about AI scraping

"It's now extremely common for someone to say they asked "chat" for some piece of information. We all know what they mean. But if you needed data on how popular AI portals are now, OpenAI provided it recently when the company revealed that ChatGPT has 900 million users, up from 800 million in the fall."

"Surveys, such as this one done by OnMessage last fall, consistently show the public believes content providers should be compensated when their content is scraped by AI engines. The AI industry tends to have a different view, often suggesting that "publicly available" data (i.e., stuff on the internet) is fair game."

"The central issue is one of leverage: The AI companies have it, and publishers by and large don't. A new industry coalition is looking to rebalance those scales. In late February, a group of U.K. media companies-including the BBC, the Financial Times-emerged to negotiate better terms."

AI has become deeply integrated into everyday language and usage, with ChatGPT reaching 900 million users and competing platforms like Gemini, Copilot, and Claude also growing rapidly. This surge positions AI as a significant discovery channel between publishers and audiences. The rise of generative engine optimization reflects industry efforts to ensure AI systems reference content appropriately. However, a fundamental issue persists: content compensation. Public surveys show audiences believe publishers should be compensated when AI engines scrape their content, yet AI companies typically view publicly available internet data as fair game. This creates a leverage imbalance favoring AI companies over publishers. A new industry coalition of U.K. media companies, including the BBC and Financial Times, is emerging to negotiate better terms and rebalance the power dynamic.

Read at Fast Company